


Into the Flames

by FinalProcessor



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29637264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinalProcessor/pseuds/FinalProcessor
Summary: Nicholas P. Wilde and his wife Judith L. Hopps are suddenly called off their Christmas vacation a day early to help assist in a near-crisis situation across the city.Franko Debauch has come to town.With this new threat arising, Nick and Judy must protect the city, and above all, keep each other safe.Set only a couple years after the Nighthowler incident, can both these lovers manage to keep their heads on straight while separated? What about when Chief Bogo puts the entire city in a police state? Will Clawhouser ever hit the exercise track? Find out the answer to all these and more in my first debut on AO3.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 8
Kudos: 8





	1. Soft Ride through the Snow

9:30PM

The train was mostly empty of passengers, unsurprisingly. The only other mammals on board was the elk lazily scrolling through something on his phone, and the tigress quietly conversing over her own cell phone. Nick knew there wouldn’t be many passengers on their train ride back to Zootopia, mainly because it was merely the day after Christmas- and few had to return home so soon from visiting relatives. As the Snow proceeded to hammer the train in a near-blizzard like fashion, he had found himself thankful for the warmth that the train provided. 

He looked down at his side to see the grey and white fur of his partner leaning against him, seemingly asleep with her eyes closed. They had been married for two full years now, and yet, every time he looked at her he still felt that need to touch her, to smell her, and to tell her how deeply in love with her he was. He knew it was cheesy, but he couldn’t ever find a reason to care. He loved her, and that was the only thing that mattered. This train of thought eventually had him leaning in with his nose to softly nuzzle it in between her ears, taking deep breaths of her scent. This still, and he was sure it always would, gave him a giddy feeling in his heart that made him feel like a kit all over again. “I love you, Judy” he softly whispered against her head.

He let himself sulk in the scent of her for a few moments longer before finally turning his attention over to their coats, which were sitting on the seat next to them. Looking at the coats, he began to think about the undoubtably frigid walk to their apartment that they would have to endure. The thought made him shiver as his body interpreted it as a warning. In this state of annoyance, he had begun the think about why exactly he and Judy were being called back to duty a day early from their vacation. Although the ZPD didn’t give any specific details other than they needed as many officers on call as possible, everyone knew exactly why. Franko Debauch had come to town.

A world wide drug lord (despite no allegations ever being proven in a court of law, typically due to the lack of witnesses), Franko was known for his particularly public dealings with officials, organizations, and even law enforcement. A completely legitimate businessman front hardly covered his true work running entire drug rings across major cities in the world, and that was just the way he wanted it. Everyone also knew his tactics for establishing this seemingly endless drug cartel across so many nation-states. He would enter a city, spark up some legal business opportunities, and then begin recruiting his workforce into a drug making team, by force if he had too. Those who refused or tried to run always ended up on the cover of missing mammals by the next day. After recruiting his workforce, he would bring in managers and even fall-guys to ensure the operation would hold up- and then head to the next city. He had done this without flaw for the past 20 years, and now he was in Zootopia.


	2. Walking Through a Blizzard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stepping off the train, both Judy and Nick must venture through the full force blizzard to reach their apartment. A tad of intimacy- a bit of desire. How did these two ever live without each other?

10:15PM

Judy was awakened by the soft nudging coming from seemingly nowhere. Still in a sleepy daze, she had opted to ignore it and return to dream-land. This was, however, stopped by the soothing voice of her fox who was currently holding her, “wake up now, sleepyhead”. She had heard the playful tone in his voice as she simultaneously realized that it was in fact him doing the nudging. 

Not exactly wanting to, she opened her eyes and was greeted with the hazy sight of a now empty train, besides from the handsome fox who was still holding her. It only took her a few seconds to realize that his coat was now on him, as reality started to drift back into her still rather sleepy mind. As this was happening, she watched Nick reach over and pick up the remaining, smaller coat with his free paw and hand it to her. A grin spread across her muzzle when she looked up to his face and saw the unwavering heat in his eyes as he took in the sight of her. She always loved the way he looked at her. “And how do you expect me to put my coat on while you still have me trapped under your arm, slick?” 

She appreciated the hesitation he took in finally unwrapping his left paw from around her as he instead begun reaching into the pocket of his coat to pull out his cell phone “holy cow, carrots!” He quickly exclaimed, seeing the screen on his phone. 

“What is it?” She said as she finished buttoning up her coat. 

“The Savanna Square itself has fallen to 83 degrees!” 

This made her ponder exactly just how atrocious the cold had to be if it was able to slightly cool off the constant raging inferno that is Savanna Square. “Let’s hope the Mammals don’t freeze to death” she quipped at him as she looked out the window into the freezing snow they were about to travel through. The cold had never been a particular problem for her- after all, she had worked to help solve cases in tundra town on multiple occasions. 

“We’re gonna have to save ourselves first, carrots” she looked at the now standing fox as he stretched at length before extending his paw to her so she could reach out and take it. “Officer Hopps, would you be so kind to escort me home through this harsh snow” 

She giggled violently as she took his paw which was far bigger than hers, “I’d love to” she replied rubbing up next to him to apply a kiss on his muzzle. She saw the way the color in his eyes deepened as she did so, which made her ears slightly blush a little hotter as she dropped them only a little to cover it. Standing together paw in paw, they exited the train and entered the frozen city streets of Zootopia. 

The cold air and sharp wind immediately assaulted her muzzle, causing her nose to twitch just a few times before she could adjust to it. She looked up at Nick, who seemed just as uncomfortable by the constant attack of wind gusts blowing snow all around them. “We should’ve hired a taxi to pick us up” he remarked, truly a master of hindsight. 

“I figured with how close our apartment is, we’d have an easier time walking than sitting through traffic” she had raise her voice for him to hear her over the wind, and felt a little silly now that she looked over the street and saw it was completely empty. She knew she should’ve expected it, it was past 10 o’clock and a blizzard was raging through the city. They began to head towards their apartment, she held onto him tightly the whole way for the warmth his body provided, as well as that soothing comfort she always felt when she had her paws around him. Slowly but surely, they finally made their way to the apartment building that sat just a block away from the ZPD. After having entered the building and being greeted with the nice change in freezing cold to pleasantly warm, she still found herself unwilling to put a stop to the clinging of her fox. Together, they entered the elevator as Nick pressed the button labeled “5” to bring them to their floor. Once the elevator doors closed and it rumbled to life, she heard his voice pleasantly wash through her again.

“I think it’s safe for you to unhinge your bunny death-grip now” he mused, although she could still faintly hear the hesitation in his voice saying it.

“No” came her abrupt response after just a few seconds. This had, of course, prompted no further argument from him. After just a few more seconds, the elevator died down as the doors opened, revealing a hallway with doors lined up on either side, in the typical apartment style any mammal would expect to see entering zootopia. Nick kept one arm around her as he guided them both the the door of their particular apartment, 521. Reaching for his apartment key with his free hand, he was suddenly stopped when she had inserted her own key and pushed the door open- abruptly stepping away from him and into the now open doorway before turning to face him and grabbing the collar of his coat- dragging him into the room with her. “I’ve waited four whole days for this” she said as he reached back to shut the apartment door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on getting out one chapter/day, so if you're enjoying the story so far consider subscribing to get notifications when a new chapter releases!


	3. Back at the Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As our lovers head back to the precinct to join the army of ZPD officers ready to assess the threat Franko Debauch has brought to the table, they learn of a slight change in chief Bogo’s demeanor as they enter the station.

4:30AM 

Nick stepped out of the apartment, just behind the ecstatic bunny who always seemed to take just a bit too much joy in her job. Not that being a ZPD officer wasn’t great, but most mammals are usually not literally bouncing up and down to get to their workplace. This, however, was just another thing he loved about her. Locking the door to their apartment, he started towards the elevator down the hall, struggling to keep pace without jogging to stay next to the bunny who seemed determined on being in the ZPD station within the next five minutes. “You know carrots, most mammals wouldn’t appreciate getting up for work at four in the morning on what was supposed to be a vacation day” he stated as if he didn’t entirely expect her to be so exuberant, which of course, he absolutely had. In fact, he was mostly certain that she was like this every single day they had gone to work together. 

“That’s because ‘most mammals’ don’t have you as their partner, slick” she teased, playfully elbowing him in his side. 

“I know, I am pretty great” he replied, letting a grin begin to curve his muzzle. “And where would you even be without my jokes to keep things interesting?” He added, chuckling just a bit when her response was a slightly deeper elbow to his side. They reached the elevator, and this time it was Judy who quickly pressed the “L” indicator to take them to the main lobby. And so the elevator doors closed as it once again came to life to bring them to the lower floor. He of course, took this chance to tell Judy a joke. “Hey carrots, what do you call an amphibious mammal that advocates for peace?” He questioned, enjoying the sight of her rolling her eyes for a brief second before playing along, as she always did.

“I don’t know, what?” 

“A hippypotomus” The loud snark of laughter that escaped him after once again telling an absolute knee slapper of a joke had once again been completely justified. Just as all the other great jokes he always told.

“Oh my god Nick, that’s just terrible” she said through her paw that was now covering her muzzle to suppress the feminine giggle she couldn’t help. After just a moment longer, the doors to the elevator opened up to the decorated lobby of their apartment. Thankfully, the snow-plowing crews that worked tirelessly during the winter season had already come through their street. The reason the city poured so much money into ensuring the snow-plowing crews worked fast and efficiently was obvious to anyone who had one look at the populace. Judy, although being not as small as some of the other citizens within Zootopia, still had issues with the deeper snow brought in from the season because of her height. Even Nick himself could find it problematic sometimes. 

Heading out through the main doors, they began the short walk to the precinct where they would finally be briefed on how exactly the ZPD planned on combating the nefarious Franko. The walk itself took less than fifteen minutes through the now light snow gently peppering the air. The ZPD jackets they wore weren’t always the best at keeping the cold at bay, but it always gave Nick that sense of pride putting it on- just as his uniform underneath did. Entering through the grand doors of the precinct, Nick and Judy were both greeted by the as-always outgoing and overly friendly cheetah that sat behind the reception desk. 

“Hi Nick! Hi Judy! Cold one out there today huh?” Nick felt as if there was such a thing as sprinting in a sentence, that cheetah had perfected the art. 

“If you think that’s bad you should’ve seen the walk home last night” Nick responded with that friendliness he always added to his voice when speaking with Clawhauser. 

The chubby mammal’s eyes widened by about 150% in reaction to the statement, as well as leaning forward on the desk with his jaw open. “YOU guys were out in THAT” the sentence was phrased more like a state of disbelief than a question. “You’re lucky you didn’t freeze to death! Did you know the Savanna Square fell to 83 degrees?”

“I did, as a matter of fact” came Nicks reply as he looked down at Judy, clearly sighing on the inside at the two males making a big deal at what she clearly thought wasn’t a big deal. 

“Well you guys better get to roll call, Chief Bogo has been REALLY strict on everyone recently being on time and at attention, I think it’s because of this new guy who came to town but the chief hasn’t said anything” Clawhauser alerted them, as he finally began to sink back down into his chair.

“Thanks for the warning, bud. We’ll catch ya later” he responded as he and Judy began doing just as the cheetah said. Heading further into the building, Nick couldn’t help but feel a twinge of uneasiness over the whole situation. So he just brushed it off as being in work on a vacation day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still being new to AO3, I decided to skip out on the bedroom scenes for this story. I’m not entirely sure if I've built myself up to it yet, but I'd be grateful to hear anyone's thoughts in the comments!


	4. Too far?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Nick and Judy find themselves in a strange predicament. The Chief they've always followed without question seems to be taking quite the heavy-handed approach to this new threat in the city. But beyond that, part of his plan is by splitting them up!

4:55AM

The roll call room was even more hectic than usual. Judy immediately realized why the room was so cantankerous when she came through the door, still alongside Nick who was clearly not enjoying all the noise himself, either. The room was filled to the brim with ZPD officers, among the uniformed mammals were Wolford, Delgado, and Fangmeyer, who Judy knew were also supposed to still be on vacation. She realized that she should’ve expected it, really, that her and Nick wouldn’t have been the only ones called into duty from their break. This, however, was a short lived thought when all of the sudden the overbearing noise of the room was brought to a complete and utter silence. All except for the sound of hooves walking across the front of the room. From where she and Nick were standing, just inside the doorway, it was impossible to see past the conglomeration of officers- most of which were far taller than them- in the room to possibly get a sight of who could be making their way across the room. Even so, Judy had no doubt of who it was.

“Alright, listen up!” Chief Bogo’s booming voice didn’t even seem necessary in commanding the attention of ever officer in the room, after all, they were already standing at attention facing him. Judy herself, and even Nick she noticed, was also standing up as straight as possible while looking dead ahead, despite having no view and definitely not being within view of the chief. “I have reason to suspect our city has been targeted for the center of an illegal-narcotics operation. I have called you all here for extended shifts, and even pulled a handful of you from your vacations to deal with the situation” Judy had expected the chief of police to keep things formal, and definitely knew he wouldn’t be saying Franko’s name during his address. What did catch her off guard, was Bogo’s plan for taking on quite possibly the biggest drug lord in the world. “In order to ensure the upholding of the law, we will be patrolling every street in the city 24hours a day.” 

Although Judy was looking at the back of her colleagues heads, she still noticed the small changes in nearly all of their expressions. A few slightly leaned over from their at-attention stance, and some had a slight twitch in their ear. One one snow white wolf’s ears folded back completely. The words were still being processed in her own mind, along with the reality of just how much extra work time they’d be facing in the VERY near future. Nick was just out of her peripheral vision enough to block her from seeing any change in his posture, but she figured he was probably running through the words in his own head, too. Judy hadn’t quite been off-put by the idea of working extra hours and more days, that was, until the chief continued describing his plan of war to kick the would-be drug ring out of the city.

“In order to cover more ground, all officers will be split up from their assigned partners and will be working as an individual unit for their patrol routes.” Judy felt her heart drop almost immediately, as the idea of being separated from Nick even dared be considered in her mind. Although he was just barely within the corner of her, Judy saw Nick shift quickly for just the fraction of a second- as if his entire body flinched at the words. She considered begging Bogo to reconsider dividing each partner, even if it was just for them. They were married for gods sake! However, while the chief was going on about how this was the most efficient strategy at keeping the streets safe, she came to the realization that he would never bend the plan to drive out a world class crime king just to accommodate her. She was still lost in thought over the the idea of not having Nick by her side, so much so that she almost missed his next statement after assuring his officers that this was the best course of action. “Due to the extreme ground power needed to exercise such action, I’ve called in all tactical response teams to patrol the city as well. This should not only aid on covering a majority of the city, but provide all officers in the field with readily and equipped back up in the case it should be needed.”

SWAT teams? Really? In Judy’s years of law enforcement (three now) nor while she had been studying police responses and security actions had she heard of SWAT teams patrolling the streets 24/7 to ensure the protection of the city. She felt her left ear twitch when she came to the grizzly realization that Chief Bogo was putting them one step away from martial law. 

Judy could begin to feel her head spinning. A world renown drug lord here in Zootopia had already been a lot for her- now combined with the threat of being separated from Nick during work as well as the borderline police state Chief Bogo was locking the entire city into- it was all far too much for her. She actually thought she would faint for a moment before regaining her composure and turning her attention back to the chief (who she still couldn’t see), as he seemed to be acknowledging that it looked as if he had lost his mind with power, but was assuring every mammal in the room this was solely for the security of Zootopia. Judy knew none of the officers in the room would have ever expected their leader was on some mad power trip, but had to wonder if he was still over-reacting to the threat. Surely there had to be a better way than surveying the entire city constantly. Nevertheless, Judy remained at attention until the Chief had quickly explained that the board behind him contained each officer’s new cruiser number as well as their patrol routes for the day. After doing so, he promptly exited the room and most likely returned to his office, Judy knew.

Letting out a sigh of near disbelief at the whole ordeal, she turned to Nick with a not so well hidden frown tugging on her muzzle. Not only had the Chief planned on working her to death, she was expected to do so without the fox she loved. This was, in her mind, the cruelest thing to ever happen to her. She was only slightly gratified when she saw a similar expression on Nick’s face, letting her know he had most likely been thinking about it as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now why would the chief take such a seemingly over the top reaction over one mammal? Tune in next time to find out! And make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts so far!


	5. Calling Through the Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick can't shake this worried feeling he has. But what is it exactly? As he drives through the city he finds himself needing to call Judy to soothe this strange anxiety that only seems to rise.

5:20AM

Nick wasn’t able to soothe the ache he felt raging in his heart, and spreading through his body as he reached for the door handle to his assigned ZPD cruiser. The underground parking garage was abuzz with dozens of uniformed officers entering their own cruisers and heading out through the vehicular exit. He couldn’t help but look around trying to get a sight of Judy, who he had lost after getting his car number and patrol orders from the board in the roll call room. He didn’t doubt his abilities as a police officer, and certainly didn’t dare doubt Judy’s skills either, yet he couldn’t help but feel worried about them being on the job alone. They worked best as a team, and knowing that Judy might have to engage criminals on her own sparked a fear induced rage to spread through him. Despite everything his mind and body was telling him, he took one last good look around the parking garage in vain of trying to find her, before opening the car door and entering the cruiser. 

It took him about an entire ten minutes to finally get through the line of ZPD cars and back out into the snowy streets of Zootopia. The warm air around him contrasted sharply with the sight of the outside snow, making him thankful that he was provided one of the up-to-date cruisers- as some officers had to take the outdated cars stored within the offsite garage across the street. He was certain most of them had their heater’s broken years ago from extensive use combined with a lackluster design, making Nick feel sorry for any mammal who would have to drive across the street in one, let alone working twelve hour shifts. Making his way to the corner of Frayley Street, which was about a 25 minute drive from the precinct, Nick found himself with more thinking time than he would’ve liked; particularly because he was separated from his lover and partner. Why had the Chief gone so overboard in response to this Franko guy? How long did he plan to keep this show of force going before actually handling the problem? And why couldn’t he shake the foreboding feeling of anxiety slowly rising in him? No, it was more than just a feeling now, something was wrong. He pulled over the car, still a few blocks away from Frayley Street, and reached for his phone. 

“Hey carrots, I figured you’ve already gotten bored, not having me there and all” he said into the empty car, which only remained so for another second before Judy’s voice came through the phone, sounding nearly ecstatic.

“Hey Slick!” He had expected her to at least try and tell him they were suppose to be working before immediately engaging into conversation. Her reaction made him wonder just how accurate his statement had been...

“So, enjoying the sights of the Rain Forest district?” He responded as he began to pull the car back into the road and continue to his designated street in order to begin his patrol route. 

“Not so much without you with me” her response had pleasantly caught him off guard with the not entirely innocent way her voice sounded through the phone. 

“You know, saying things like that is only going to push me further to go complaining to Bogo” he half-heartedly warned as he approached Frayley Street.

“Well I already would have gone tearing down his door if I knew there was a chance at him actually conceding to the idea,” her voice had spoke through the phone. Nick had thought the same thing himself.

“Yea,” he sighed before turning the corner and entering onto Gregory Street. He began to feel the tightness in his chest relaxing as he continued to speak with her. “So, spot any suspicious drug lords on your patrol yet?” He joked, knowing she had likely been on her patrol route far longer than him as she only had to travel about five minutes away from the station. A few seconds passed as she didn’t respond, causing that strange mix of anxiety and fear begin to race through him again. “Carrots?” He spoke out, trying to keep his voice level in order to not seem as tense as he was.

“Yea yea, I’m here” she suddenly said. “I just passed one of the SWAT vans on Harings Street” she added after just a second, sounding rather curious about the heavily armed mammals that were undoubtedly within the large vehicle. She confirmed this after continuing her thought. “I wonder why Chief Bogo called in all this extra force, only to patrol the streets” her voice now sounded as if it was mostly speaking to herself, so he didn’t immediately respond. He did, however, know what she meant. Most of the streets in Zootopia were already covered under surveillance from the traffic cameras, and patrolling these same streets didn’t exactly seem like the most efficient strategy at catching a nefarious king of drug circles across the world. Eventually, Nick broke the silence as he tried to make sense of the whole situation himself. 

“I just think Bogo’s worried that Zootopia could turn into one of the cities with an impenetrable drug ring under the surface. Everyone at the station knows this whole thing is because Franko Debauch is here in town. And you know how everyone’s favorite buffalo hates any crime that affects innocent people” he said while still considering the strange approach to it all. “Now is sending every officer to constantly patrol the entirety of the city a reasonably response? Remains to be seen” he playfully added, keeping the humor in his tone to help convince himself out of the remaining anxiety in his chest.

“I just hope he knows what he’s doing, everyone knows the citizens aren’t going to be happy with an officer surveying every corner in the city” she said with just a touch of worry edging her voice. 

“Doubting your superior? For shame carrots. And to think he sees you as one of his best” he mused, finally feeling the final bastions of pressure in his shirt begin to release. 

An impatient sigh escaped her before she responded to him. “Niiiiiiiiick, you know what I mean” 

“Well if by ‘what you mean’ is that you have absolutely no faith in the abilities of our chief, yes, I do know. But don’t worry, fluff, he’s dealt with these crises scenarios before. Remember the whole nighthowler ordeal? And before either of us were on the force he always held the position as chief of police with complete confidence from the city. If there was one mammal in the world built to lead law enforcement, it would be Chief Bogo” he said the words confident enough to ensure both himself and her that Chief could handle having the weight put on him. Not that any mammal in their right mind would even consider Bogo as inefficient in the first place, however. “Well, time to get back to work, I can’t give you ALL my time carrots” he joked to her, despite the fact that it was the opposite of what he had wanted to do- both returning to work AND not giving her all his time. “I’ll see ya back home, fluff” he said painfully, and only furthering that pain when he heard her response.

“Alright, don’t go jumping into any gunfights until then, ok? I love you” the way her voice carried that soft sadness of saying goodbye nearly tore his heart out of his chest before he managed to finish the call.

“I’ll do my best, love you too” and with that, he continued his silent drive through the diverse streets of Zootopia, the silent agony forming yet again in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steel yourselves for the next chapter, gentlemen.


	6. Gunfire, Explosions, Bravery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, it's time for some action.

9:40AM 

The bullets whizzing around her hardly mattered to her as she failed to process the situation around her as she woke up. After a few seconds of wondering why someone was popping so many balloons, she began to examine her surroundings while still in a daze. It appeared to her that someone had made an absolute mess of the cruiser, with the equipment spread across the roof of the car. Wait, how was it all sticking? Why did she feel so nauseous? Why were those balloons still popping! Suddenly, a distant voice began yelling something incomprehensible. She only then realized it was her ears that were ringing, making the far away voice impossible to understand. After a moment longer, the voice suddenly became clear, if still hard to hear over the loud popping noises happening all around her. 

“We need...... 5th Aven.... offic.. several armed susp...” spoke the distant voice she had never heard before. After she had realized that it was an officer of some kind, it all flooded back to her. 

—

“I’ll do my best, love you too” came the charming voice of her fox through the small phone she held against her ear. She was grateful he had called her to talk, but held on to the resentment that they couldn’t be with each other and talking throughout the entire shift. She continued patrolling her assigned streets for another few minutes before noticing something just slightly odd. A weasel seemed to be watching her car as he was talking on a phone. Probably just speaking with someone about all the police out today, she figured. Taking yet another turn, she continued patrolling the seemingly normal streets of the city. In fact, it seemed even more boring than usual. The snow had clearly driven most mammals into their homes and off the streets, she decided. 

After a few more hours of driving around the bland snow covered streets, she was suddenly brought out of her perpetual boredom when he radio suddenly jumped to life with the voice of Clawhauser. 

“All officers in the Rain Forest District converge on officer Kajiks position at the corner of Daxin Road and Courtney Avenue, shots fired” her heart began racing immediately when she had hear the unusually stern tone in the usually easygoing cheetah’s voice. And only tripled when she heard the term ‘shots fired’. She could hardly control the shaking in her paw from being so abruptly pulled from the repetitive driving as she reached for the radio.

“This is Officer Hopps, I’m heading there now” she said while barely managing to keep her voice calm and professional. She herself had only ever been called onto a shots fired call once, and when she arrived the suspect had already been apprehended by the first responders. This was certainly not a usual for her. 

Flipping on the lights and sirens of her ZPD cruiser, she began to speed towards the scene. “Why couldn’t Nick be here” she mumbled while trying not to crash into every car on the road as she continued towards the call. She certainly knew he would have some snarky remark to ease the tension that tightened all around her. That’s when she began to hear it, the distant popping of gunfire. She was familiar with the sound, having practiced on the shooting range with her colleagues on several occasions. After a moment longer she turned a corner of a four way street to find an outdated patrol car filled with bullet holes at the end of the road. But where were the officers? For a fraction of a second she saw a uniformed Tiger poke his head out from the other side of the cruiser than the way she was approaching. That was when she realized, the armed mammals were across the street BEHIND her.

The explosion that suddenly shook the cruiser was barely comprehended in her brain before the car flipped and she hit her head against the side of the car door, making everything go black.

—

She had to get out of there. It was only a matter of time before the car caught fire or one of the bullets came through a window. That was when she noticed that her driver side window was in fact broken, the shards of glass covering the snowy asphalt of the road and the roof of her cruiser. Deciding a cut here or there was better than being blown up (again) or shot, she undid her seatbelt and fell onto the roof of her car. Still trying to fight off the daze that surrounded her mind, she crawled her way out the window and back out into the snowy street. She immediately heard the voice of over a dozen mammals yelling, and it took a second for her to realize that they were in fact calling out to HER.

“Get back!”  
“Stay down!”   
“Don’t move!”   
“Take cover!”   
Those were the clearest orders she heard being given from the uniformed officers across the street, behind now multiple cars and SWAT vans. She decided it was probably best to adhere to the advice of her coworkers as bullets continued to pass by just above her. Still not standing up, she quickly scattered herself to the front of the cruiser and out of the way from the constant gunfire coming from the other direction of the road. But she was still pinned in the middle of the fighting between the two opposite ends. Reaching for her holster, she quickly mumbled to herself as she began to fully understand the situation and draw the firearm kept at her side.

“Sweet cheese and crackers”

———————————————————————— 

Nick was hardly keeping his mind awake as he continued to patrol the streets of Zootopia. The soft snow falling combined with the warm air blowing through his fur was quite the recipe for putting him to sleep. Fighting the battle of staying alert was suddenly no longer a problem for him as he heard his radio activate with Clawhauser speaking in a bone-chilling seriousness. “All officers in the Rain Forest District converge on officer Kajiks position at the corner of Daxin Road and Courtney Avenue, shots fired”

Nick immediately turned the car around as he simultaneously flipped on the sirens and floored it to the Rain Forest District. He knew there’d be consequences of abandoning his post to respond to a call not meant for him, but that hardly mattered as he gripped the wheel so tightly he was sure his claws had left a mark in it.

“I’m coming Judy”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But... Will he make it?


	7. A Hero for Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick finds himself in quite the precarious position, but with the bunny he loves sitting in harm's way, is this really going to stop him?

9:50 AM

Nick hardly had any control of himself as he sped through the streets lightly covered in the soft falling snow. Turning another corner, he swore his heartbeat was audible over the sound of his cruiser being pushed to its limits. “This never should’ve happened” he nearly yelled into the empty car. His mind was still trying to go over why this was all still happening. Why had the Chief ever thought this was a good idea? Now the only person he ever loved was in danger, and he wasn’t there. The thought made him tighten his grip on the wheel even further, as he barely managed to swerve in between the luckily few cars dotted across the road. He had already made it to the Rain Forest District, and just now began to hear the distant boom of fully automatic gunfire erupting a few blocks down. It took everything he had to not scream out for her as he turned down a street to find a large group of ZPD cruisers and SWAT vans completely blocking the road. Officers in uniforms or tactical had taken cover behind all the vehicles and the buildings on either side of them. Nearly crashing into the massive roadblock, Nick jumped out of his car and turned to the nearest officer- a dark red fox in full tactical gear with an automatic rifle hanging from his bulletproof vest. “Where’s Judy!” The way he practically screamed at the armed mammal was not entirely professional, but Nick didn’t exactly care. The SWAT member only raised an eyebrow for just a moment in consideration, clearly wondering what this other fox was doing showing up to a gunfight asking for someone. Nick pushed the officer aside as he began to come to his senses- no SWAT member would know individuals from his precinct. He walked up to a rhino in the standard ZPD uniform and jacket who was also standing behind the large vans used to transport the tactical teams. “Jared, where the hell is Judy?” Nick demanded. 

The rhino clearly had a moment of surprise when he turned to find Nick ordering him to give Judy’s location. “Nick! I didn’t know you were assigned to the Rain Forest district. Where were you! We’ve been caught up with these guys for the past fifteen minutes!” Came the deep gruff voice from the Rhino.

“God damn it just answer me!” Came Nick’s impatient response as he decided the time for holding back was over. “Where is she!” He added when the rhino just seemed to stare at him for a moment.

“She’s caught in the middle of the street, she’s taken cover on her cruiser but we still don’t have a plan on how to get her out of there,” the way the rhino spoke hinted that he understood Nick was going to flip. 

And flip he did.

Taking a look over the hood of the armored van he saw her. Nose twitching, gun drawn, clearly trying to figure out if she should make a break for the line of police cars or attempt returning fire from her position. Further down the street behind her was a bus. The bus itself looked as if it had come from an apocalypse movie, with steel plates covering the window almost entirely except for small slips in between them. It took Nick only a second to realize that it was there the shooters were firing from. Why hadn’t they driven off? Why stay to fight the ZPD when they could’ve easily gotten away from the gun battle? But it still hardly mattered to him as he saw Judy in the middle of it all. She was in danger, and he would save her. Even if he had to kill every mammal on that bus to do it. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t” came the sudden deep voice of Jared, still just at his side. “We have them surrounded, every road is blocked just like this one, just give it a little time and we’ll close in on them” 

Nick could see Jared wasn’t lying, far down the road past even the armored bus were more SWAT vans and patrol cars. He knew Judy hadn’t known he arrived, but that didn’t stop him from yelling out to her. “Judy, stay down! I’m coming to you!” His words caused the Bunny’s head to instantly snap towards the line of ZPD vehicles he and the other officers were taking cover behind. The second her eyes landed on him, the expression in her eyes changed. At first, she looked relieved at seeing him. But that only lasted a fraction of a second before becoming a worried and frightened. The look made his heart sink as he turned to Jared when the rhino had begun speaking.

“Oh no you ain’t” came his booming reply to obviously what Nick had called out to Judy. “If you even dry to take a step beyond one of these cars you’re gonna to get your head blown clean off. You hear me?” 

Nick shrugged off the oversized mammals warning as he began planning on just how to accomplish this goal. Wanting to charge headfirst to the cruiser where Judy was, perhaps wasn’t the brightest idea despite being his first instinct. Even if he did manage to get there without being shot he’d still have to manage to get them both back to safety. Suddenly he turned towards one of the officers in full SWAT gear, a dark grey wolf, as he had just a slightly outrageous idea. “You guys have shields, right?” 

The wolf gave Nick a befuddled look as he seemed to consider what exactly this fox had just asked. “Like, ballistic shields? Yea why?” 

“I want one” 

“You’re kidding” the wolf deadpanned. Obviously not able to comprehend that this random officer wanted to commandeer one of the bulletproof shields designed for the tactical teams. 

“I said give me one of your shields!” He yelled as he ran out of what was already a pretty limited amount of patience. The wolf seemed to consider Nick for a moment longer before deciding that if there wasn’t any protocol for this, it was fair game. 

“All right, one second” the wolf calmly stated as he turned and began walking to one of the large vans behind the line of other vans and police cars. Disappearing into the back, he emerged a moment later carrying a piece of metal with a slight gap near the top made of glass. The shield seemed a tad too small for the wolf, but Nick knew it’d be a perfect fit for himself. “Ok so here’s how you hold it,” the wolf began explaining. “You put your arm through these two bars and no matter what don’t let it slip out. Remember to always keep the front facing the enemy and only ever look through the bullet-proof glass.”

“Yea yea,” Nick said as he took the shield in the same way the armed wolf had explained to him. “How many bullets can it take?” He added quickly before peering over the van to the bus far down the street, still firing from its seemingly endless ammo supply. 

“No idea, good luck” the wolf smirked as he turned to his other squadmates and uniformed officers. “Everyone listen up! This mad bastard is going to run out there with a shield and try to rescue the bunny cop trapped out there!” The way the wolf made it sound only pushed him to do it more, which hardly mattered as he had already decided on it. “It’s our job to take some of the heat off him so he doesn’t get himself shot to death! On three, I want every single one of you to unload your weapons on that bus! Give it everything you got!” He called to the mammals before reaching for his radio. “Command this is squad leader Derick, we’re going to attempt maneuvering to the trapped officer’s position and peeling her back to the line. I want every officer firing on that bus on my mark” he said into the radio before getting an answer back seconds later

“Negative, officers firing on the bus could hit the officers on the adjacent side- revise your plan, over” came the static-filled voice of what sounded like an almost bored mammal on the other end. The wolf’s expression hardly seemed to change as he flicked something on his radio before speaking again.

“Sierra squad this is Phoenix leader, come in, over” it only took a second for a response to come through on the other end.

“Copy Derick, what can I do you for? Over” came the smooth voice that was surprisingly more feminine than Nick had expected. Women weren’t entirely common in the majority of the ZPD, so hearing one as a SWAT team leader had caught him largely off guard. 

“Keep your people over there in cover, over” the wolf calmly said before turning to the officers around him once again. “What’s your name, blue?” Nick figured the term ‘blue’ was just some term the SWAT members used when referring to the standard police officers. 

“Nick,” he told the wolf clearly.

“Well Nick, when the guns start going off, do whatever it is you have planned on that crazy head of yours,” the wolf said blandly before taking a deep breath.

“One!” he suddenly yelled loud enough for every mammal to hear him through the gunfire. 

“Two!” he yelled as Nick began to prep himself for the run of a lifetime.

“Three!”

The gunfire erupted around him almost instantly as the wolf had finished saying the final number. Just as it did, Nick stepped out with the shield covering him and began the mad dash to his partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final pre-made chapter I'm uploading to AO3. The rest will be added the day they are made, so stick around!


	8. Sprinting for Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick has to rescue Judy, but can he make the run? Will he be able to get her to safety? Read on to find out...

10:00 AM

Judy hardly could make out the loud yelling coming from the police vehicles behind her. The fear that had taken over her after she had fully come to her senses was overwhelming. Up until now she could swear the seconds were passing by in slow motion as her only comprehensible thought was ‘this is it’. It was only when she managed to understand the word “three” being called out that she realized someone had been counting. The question of ‘what were they counting for’ in her mind hardly stuck for long before an overwhelming increase in gunfire erupted from the line of officers. Hearing the noise, she instantly lowered herself even further to the ground in order to not be hit by any passing bullets. After making sure she wasn't about to be mowed down by the hail of rounds flying from either end of the street she was trapped on, Judy began to consider what exactly she was expected to do. Were they possibly providing her cover to run back to them? Or were they trying to pierce the armor of the bus? Should she join them in firing her service weapon? She didn't have long at all to consider all these questions when she suddenly spotted a black shape moving through the front of the police line and heading towards her. 

She realized the shape was actual moving fast towards her position, VERY fast. Within seconds it had mostly closed the gap of around 150 feet. She hadn't been able to figure out just what it was until after it had almost completely made its way to her. It was one of the ballistic shields the ZPD tactical responsers used mostly during building raids, with several members behind the point man carrying it. But then she realized, there in fact was no team behind it, only a single mammal. She understood this was an attempt at saving her from being in the middle of the shootout, but who would be crazy enough to risk their life saving her from an onslaught of bullets with only a flat piece of metal as protection? Her answer came when the figure came within ten feet of her, close enough to see the face through the bulletproof glass used for a window in the ballistic shield, and was still running with a surprising speed. Reaching the turned-over cruiser, she saw him drop the shield and turn to her.

“Nick...” she started, but was cut off by him.

“Are you hurt?” he said breathlessly while still sounding fearful for her safety.

“Nick I....” this time she stopped herself as she embraced him with both her arms. She buried her face into his open ZPD jacket as tears began to form in her eyes. She could smell his scent clearly through the gun smoke that filled the air around them. The moment did not last long, however. Immediately as the tears began to slide down her cheek she felt him place his arm under her and draw her entire body up to his chest, simultaneously reaching for the shield that laid on asphalt next to him. Picking it up, he placed the piece of metal over the both of them and stood up to begin walking carefully backwards. She didn't dare move, for fear of causing Nick to drop her or the shield that covered them from the hailstorm of bullets passing by. A loud *ting* of a bullet ricocheting off the shield made her violently flinch as they continued to slowly retreat backwards. The only thing Judy could do was bury her muzzle into the uniform over his chest and listen to what she swore was a growl rising in him. 

After what felt like an eternity of slowly moving through the battlefield she began to hear voices calling out amongst each other. 

“They're almost there!”  
“Keep pouring the heat on ‘em!”  
“The mad bastard actually did it!” 

Hearing the sounds of the other officers reminded her that even though it was necessary to her survival, she was still being held by her lover at work and in front of others. However, she doubted any of them would go filing a report on it. After a moment longer she noticed they passed by two of the large SWAT vans and we're now surrounded by uniformed mammals as well as the heavily armed tactical teams. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Don't worry Judy, I have you, and I'm never letting go” he softly spoke into her ear as he let the shield drop from his arm and joined his other one in holding her. When it became clear she had no intention of releasing his jacket, he slowly lowered the both of them to the ground and dropped her into his lap. He placed his muzzle softly in between her ears when he heard the almost inaudible noise of her quietly crying into his chest. 

“N...Nick..” she barely managed through the tears that tore his heart out. “I was there for so long...” 

“I know, I know, it’s ok now” he soothed her

“I began thinking no one would come” she barely managed to say through the crack in her voice.

“Oh you dumb bunny” he softly whispered into her hear. “I will always come for you” he continued as he took in another deep breath of her scent. He felt her continue to weep while he held her in his lap for a moment longer before remembering where exactly where he was. Looking up, he wasn't surprised to see the eyes of every SWAT member and uniformed officer staring right at the pair of them. Although most of the mammals seemed to wear a mix of curiosity and surprise across their face (even Jared, who attended their wedding), he saw Derick was looking at them with the warm understanding of someone who had seen it all before.

Meeting the eyes of his co-workers, Nick placed on that cocky smirk he so often used as he decided to let the moment get to him.

“What? She's my wife” 

\---------------------------------------------------------

Judy held on to Nick for as long as she could as she continued to cry into his uniform. All the fear and terror she felt due to being trapped by the surrounding gunfire was leaving her body, and as the relief of being held by Nick instead took its place, her tears flowed freely as she sat in his arms. Eventually, however, she was brought back into the rest of the world when a bobcat in full tactical gear began calling out to the rest of the officers. 

“They're moving!” The sudden break in the usual murmuring and planning they had been doing brought her attention to the fact that the gunfire had stopped completely and was replaced with the distant roar of an engine. 

“Which way?” Derick demanded immediately While reaching for his radio.

More of the SWAT members and officers peered over the police vehicles to see whatever the bus had been doing. But didn't they have it surrounded? Judy suddenly felt Nick’s warm embrace around her turn to a tense grip as he once again stood up and lifted her to his chest. That's when she realized, the sound of the bus was only getting closer. 

“Get back!” the bobcat yelled back, not exactly answering his squad leader’s question. Even so, everyone understood. 

Nick had already been carrying her off the street and towards the cover of the buildings the police barricade was in-between. The moment they reached the corner of the building a large crash was heard from just behind them. She peered over Nick’s shoulder to see the monstrous bus send two patrol cars flying to the side before continuing down the road at a surprising speed. Nick swiftly placed her on her feet before turning around to see the damage himself. Some of the officers had been right behind them, also running for the cover that the building provided from the speeding bus. The ones who hadn't been behind them had run the opposite wall across from them, and it appeared everyone had made it. Derick, who had run for the other wall adjacent to them, reached for his radio as he alerted command to the new situation. 

“The bus is mobile heading North down Oak Road!” he called into it before looking over at another mammal in tactical gear. “Zack, you're driving! Let's go!” he quickly commanded before jumping into the passenger seat while the other squadmates jumped in the back before closing the reinforced doors and speeding off after the bus.

“Why did they bring three vans if they were all just going to leave in one?” came Nick’s oddly calm voice, considering the situation and all. 

“Uhhhhh, that was my ride,” Jared said, pointing towards the smashed patrol car that had also been riddled with bullets. 

Judy wiped the final remaining tears off her face as she turned towards Nick, who seemed to be considering what exactly to do next. After a moment, she saw him reach for the radio on his shoulder and speak into it. 

“Dispatch, this is Officer Wilde, the suspects in the bus have fled the scene. Multiple cruisers have been destroyed and we have several stranded officers here” Nick seemed to talk with a matter-of-fact voice that she assumed he was using to cover up the insane adrenaline rush. It took a few seconds, but soon Clawhouser came over the radio. 

“Affirmative, Nick. We're sending a SWAT van to pick you guys up, just sit tight” Nick let go of the radio as he turned back to Judy. 

“So, what was that about not getting into gunfights?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still trying to balance the action/plot/romance that the story surrounds. How am I doing? Feel free to tell me in the comments!


	9. From Battle to Battle

10:15 AM 

The inside of the ZPD tactical response van was hardly big enough to fit the five officers ranging from the massive size of Jared to the small form of Judy. Nick didn't mind the cramped seating however, his mind was too busy on something else. Why hadn't he been there for her? Sure, he had gotten there, but why wasn't he with her in the first place? He never should have let this happen. Ever. The thought was ripping him apart, what if he hadn't gotten there in time? What if the car exploded? Or she had been shot? His grip tightened on the warm bunny currently leaning against him in the van. How could he have let this happen?

"it's ok, Nick" He suddenly heard her whisper, clearly in response to the added pressure he applied to the paw around her. How could she read him so well? 

"I should've been there" He softly replied as he looked down at the mass of grey and white fur that rested against him. He always appreciated how perfect she looked. It was the way her fur looked so beautiful as it contrasted in areas around her body, it was just too damn pretty to not stare at it every time he saw her.

Suddenly, she lifted her head from his side to look up at him as she spoke. "You were. And when I huddled behind that car with nowhere to go as bullets flew around me, I couldn't think straight because of the fear I felt. It took away everything I knew, and the world became a haze of terror when I realized you wouldn't be there," her words were like a knife in his gut, stabbing through him as regret filled every muscle in his body before she continued. "But then suddenly I heard your voice, and I felt this wave of relief that made me want to cry when I realized you were there for me, because I knew you would save me," he met her amethyst eyes as they lovingly caught his. Just then he saw tears beginning to well in her eyes as she continued to speak. "And then you were suddenly next to me, asking if I was ok," she spoke as the first teardrop fell down her cheek. "And I couldn't help falling into you as all the fear of being trapped vanished. And when you picked me up I realized I would always be safe, because you would always come to rescue me. And then when you dropped me into your lap I wanted to stay there forever, so perfectly warm and protected" the way she softly spoke mixed with the warm violet eyes that peered into his own made him wonder how he fell more in love with her every passing day. 

Seeing the sight of another teardrop fall onto her cheek was too much for him. Seeing her cry was ripping him apart on the inside, so he decided that he was going to put a stop to it. He gently leaned down and pressed his muzzle against her mouth as he began to kiss her. The sudden taste of her sharpened his senses as the world simultaneously disappeared around him as she became the only thing relevant to him. The way their mouths fit together so oddly perfect was not lost on him, and he enjoyed it the same way he enjoyed every other aspect of her. Feeling the kiss deepen as a passionate need pushed them only further, he felt the way here tongue softly glided over his sharp teeth so confidently. At one point he had been afraid of hurting her, with both his teeth and other masculine parts that perhaps wouldn't have been compatible. But she had bravely triumphed onward like she did in every other endeavor in her life and proved that she was more than capable in the bedroom. He let himself sulk in the kiss a moment longer as her sweet aroma surrounded him. Eventually, he forced himself to pull out of the mind-numbing sensation and gently withdraw from her mouth. Meeting her eyes again, he saw the way the purple of them deepened with desire before he spoke. 

"You know, fluff, our co-workers are still sitting around us right now," he said, doing his best to put on the usual chill tone of his voice. Not an easy task, considering he could still smell the sweet scent emitting from her in-between her legs. He saw the inside of her ears flare up into dark pink at his statement, something she had clearly forgotten. She once again lowered her head into him to avoid showing her embarrassment to the mammals surrounding them in the tight van, who were all staring right at the pair. Putting on his sly grin, Nick turned to his fellow officers as he decided to torture her just a little bit. "Isn't she adorable?" He smoothly asked everyone in the van. The painful jab from an elbow into his side was completely worth it.

After what Nick could only assume was a long time, as he had no watch and getting his phone would require him to disturb the sleeping bunny against him, Jared suddenly spoke up.

"What's taking so long, we should've been at the station by now," came his deep voice that suddenly filled the inside of the van. Nick had actually been wondering the same thing.

"We ain't goin to the station, we passed it fifteen minutes ago" came the new voice of a uniformed lion. This sudden information had Nick jerking his head up the small window slip at the top of the armored van as if he'd be able to see anything from it. Why wouldn't they be headed back to the station? Didn't they just leave the scene of a massive shootout? After Jared spoke again, it became clear he wasn't the only one confused.

"What?" The Rhino said in a suddenly raised voice. "Then where the hell are we going!" He questioned to no avail as the lion simply shrugged his shoulders. Reading the brass nameplate on his chest, Nick saw the name of the lion was 'Carlson B. Heshir' and decided to use this new-found knowledge.

"You seem awfully laid back, for just coming from a shootout and all, Carl," Nick said with just a hint of suspicion in his voice. Why had this lion only just now spoken up about passing the station? And why did he seem so nonchalant about it all? His suspicion only grew further when the lion opened his mouth to speak again.

"You'll find out where we're headed soon enough, ok? Just don't bother me until we get there" the way the lion spoke made Nick almost an overwhelming desire to yell at him. Clearly he knew where they were headed, why not inform the rest of them?

Suddenly Jared began speaking again, this time to the two SWAT mammals in the driver and passenger seats. "Hey! Where are we going?" He called out to them. The officers seemed to ignore Jared completely, prompting him to try again. "I asked you a question! Where are we going!" He boomed into the van. After once again getting no reaction from either of them, he decided it was a waste of time and begun reaching for his radio. "Officer Neilhammer to dispatch, where is this van taking us? Over" yet a response never came. After trying twice more, Jared gave up on contacting the station. "Someone better tell me what is going on right now before I start banging heads together"

"Don't ask me, pal" Nick calmly replied as the bunny under his arm remained mostly motionless, still sound asleep. "They probably just followed the bus to a depot and need us for backup" Nick tried to say confidently, but was honestly quite perplexed himself. Jared seemed to be somewhat satisfied with that answer as he laid back in his seat with a 'hrmph'. After a few minutes longer, The light abruptly stopped coming in from the slim windows and the van was plunged into darkness.

"What the..." Came the voice of Jared before the van suddenly came to a complete halt. Suddenly, The Badger driving them spoke up for the first time since they had entered the van.

"We've arrived"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long! My keyboard broke and I had to order a new one. Also, I recently got a comment advising me to change my schedule to post once a week instead of daily. What do the rest of you think? Please give your opinion in the comments!


	10. Trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where are our lovers? What’s going on? Can I stay true to my release schedule? Find the answer to two of those questions with the 10th chapter of Into The Flames!

11:13 AM

“...I understand you’re all a bit confused...” she heard a muffled voice say. It seemed familiar, but she was unable to place it as she woke up in the empty and almost pitch black SWAT van. The question of where the other officers were was quickly shot out of her head by a far more important need. Where was Nick? Her heart began racing as she came to the realization that he had vanished sometime during her probably not-so-professional nap at his side. Trying to figure out just what was going on, she did her best to listen to the words coming from outside the van. 

“I just don’t get it, why drive us out to god knows where just to bring us into this impromptu task force of yours?” As she shook off the remaining sleepiness she realized it was Jared currently speaking. She hadn’t really ever worked with Jared but she knew he had shown up to her and Nick’s wedding. She also knew Nick and the rhino were actually pretty good pals, as long as Nick kept away from the worst of his jokes during their conversations. Nick! Where was Nick? Her mind now back on the fox she loved, and the fact he wasn’t there began to drive that same fear she felt while she had been trapped behind the overturned ZPD cruiser into her body. She was going to die, she was alone, no one would save her. It all came flooding back as the overwhelming sensation of being trapped suffocated her every thought. The doors to the van were now open but did she dare leave the safety it provided? Nothing was making sense. And why was it so damn dark? Surely she was dreaming! Suddenly her entire body froze as she faintly heard his voice outside the van.

“You’re telling me this guy has infiltrated the ZPD? How is that even possible!” 

Hearing his voice, the base impulse to get to him took over every inch of her body as she quickly darted out the armored doors of the van. The second she stepped outside the doors she realized they were in some strange parking garage with no windows, or lighting source at all for that matter. Swiftly looking around her she found a single dim light emerging from the front of a small group of ZPD officers. Despite only being able to distinguish Jared from the group due to the lack of light, she figured Nick must’ve been somewhere among them. The voices were still speaking, but she couldn’t find a reason to listen as the need to find her mate drove through every muscle in her. Running towards the group, she decided it would be best to call out for him so he would see her.

“Nick!”  
“Nick where are you?”

Immediately upon yelling out, all murmuring and conversation from the group screeched to a halt. Seeing the forms of her fellow officers turn around quickly to see who had interrupted them, she felt just a tinge of embarrassment that was quickly washed away by the remaining fear controlling her. When she was just a few feet away from the group, she heard his voice again.

“Judy?” Came the confused and slightly frightened tone from her fox. She understood that by screaming out his name like that she was most likely worrying him about her safety, but she didn’t have time to explain the situation as she ran straight by Jared and a lion and towards the sound of his voice. She quickly found him among the other mammals who backed away from them as she- without better description- leaped at him. She felt his arms dart to catch her as she smacked right into his chest with a slight ‘hmph’ from him. Wrapping her own paws around him, she buried her face into his chest once again as she felt the tears begin to come just as they had back when he saved her at the shoot-out as the terror escaped her. “Judy, what’s wrong?” He quickly asked as the other officers began to do just the same.

“What happened?”  
“You alright?”  
“Are you ok, Judy?”

She didn’t find the time to answer her colleagues as the first whimpers began to escape her. Upon hearing them, she noticed Nick began dropping to the ground with her and sitting her into his lap. As the tears came uncontrollably, she sat there only a couple of seconds before hearing the thundering sound of Chief Bogo’s voice from above her.

“Officer Hopps, what’s the meaning of this?” He demanded, clearly befuddled as to why one of his officers just openly jumped into the arms of another officer for seemingly no reason. She always considered why the Chief and some other mammals at the precinct still referred to her as ‘Officer Hopps’ even after changing her last name when she married Nick. She didn’t however feel this would be the best time to set the record straight. 

“I am pretty irresistible” came the smooth voice of Nick as it traveled through her, calming every nerve on its path. 

“Enough from you, fox. I asked the crying bunny, who may I remind is currently on duty” Bogo always liked to use an officer's species when reprimanding them, and it often worked quite well. But she was still unable to find a moment to answer her superior as the tears continued to flow onto the shirt of her lover and friend. “Judy, for the last time, why are you currently soaking your partner’s uniform with your tears?” Came the still booming voice of the Chief of Police. Suddenly she felt a minor change in the way Nick was holding her, his grip was just a little firmer, and being right up against his chest her ears were able to pick up a slight increase in his heart rate. Through closed eyes she suddenly realized what Nick was doing, and the silence from everyone around them proved it. Was he really staring down the head of law enforcement in the entirety of Zootopia just for raising his voice at her? A warm giddiness crossed through her as the tears began to slow. He would always be there for her, always. 

“Ok fine, but everyone else I want you listening loud and clear” The Chief spoke before turning back to the rest of the group. “As I’ve said, I brought you all here because I still need to know who I can trust during this battle with Franko Debauch. I know many of you are worried that I’ve been over-reacting to his presence with my show of force, but as I’ve already explained I know how this particular mammal operates, and I know what must be done to stop him,” he continued to speak in front of the officers, obviously trying to ignore the pair on the floor with their arms wrapped around each other. “I’ve sent for all of you to be collected and brought here because I believe each of you is trust-worthy. That being said, welcome to your new base of operations”

The dark parking garage was abruptly lit by ceiling-mounted industrial lights. Judy however could hardly tell as she was still pressed against Nick’s chest as the tears finally began to slow to a crawl and only soft sniffling remained. 

“Holy...” she heard Nick say along with the surprised murmuring of the other officers 

“You aren't the first group I've brought into this, and just like I told the others, go home. I want you all here tomorrow at 5:00 AM stat. The address is 153 Burlingwood Road, and don't one of you speak about any of this, do you understand?” A round of general agreement came from the officers in front of him before the Chief continued. “And Hopps, get yourself stabilized before coming in tomorrow. Each of you will parking your cruisers in here, it will also be where you work for the duration of this crisis” the word ‘crisis’ seemed a tad too strong in her mind, but she probably wasn't in the best head-set right now anyway, she figured. Still not opening her eyes, she felt Nick began to shift as if to move her before an unknown voice began speaking.

“But uh, sir, you've told us all that you know how this guy operates but I don't think you explained why yet. Have you dealt with him before or something?” hearing the uncertain voice of what was undoubtedly one of the officers she rode in with from the SWAT van, she noticed just how quiet everyone went for a rather long moment before the Chief finally responded.

“My first run-in with him happened only a few years after I joined the force...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're starting to get into the thick of the story! New chapters will be coming out each week so stay tuned! In the meantime... What's with this recurring fear Judy’s experiencing? Will it affect her abilities as an officer? What exactly is Chief Bogo’s plan? Read on to find out, hehe.


	11. Enemies From The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chief explains his past with the notorious drug-lord... What will we find out?

8:49 PM (several years ago)

“Sergeant! Make sure my office is absolutely spotless for tonight! I'm meeting someone at nine o’clock sharp and I swear if there is one speck of dirt in there, you'll be handing out parking tickets for the rest of your career!” The yelling simian dressed in a crisp white police uniform had always enjoyed screaming at his subordinates. Or at least, he did it so much one would think he enjoyed it. These were the thoughts crossing through Sergeant Bogo’s mind. The police commissioner never seemed to actually speak in a normal tone of voice, which would've been easy to annoy anyone less resolute than the caped buffalo currently standing at attention in the upper hallway right outside the commissioner's office. 

“I’ll see to it immediately, sir,” the far larger mammal said. He had only been on the police force for the better part of four years, and had already reached the rank of Sergeant. No point in derailing it now. 

“Good! And don’t forget what I said, do you hear me? Not a speck!” The primate replied, still keeping his voice far louder than needed.

“Of course, sir” the Buffalo politely responded. He had always been professional in every endeavor he took. Even when some people forced him to silently grind his teeth. With that, the sharply uniformed commissioner headed down the stairway and into the main lobby of The ZPD precinct, leaving the Sergeant with a slight feeling of disdain as he looked over to the door of Zootopia’s most respected officer. Sighing to himself, he took one step closer to the room and reached for the door handle.

The smell hit him immediately upon opening the door. It was, with all due respect, rancid and horribly appalling. Quickly holding back the gag that shot through him, Bogo entered the room and securely closed the door behind him. “Oh boy” he let himself speak aloud, now safely inside the office and away from anyone else who could possibly hear him. How did the their commander work like this? Peering around the room, the officer quickly realized just why it stunk worse than a frat house. Shirts were scattered everywhere, pizza boxes littered the floor, crumpled up pieces of paper were stacked in every nook and cranny of the office, and empty beer cans completely covered the desk on the far side of the room. The commissioner clearly didn’t have an act for spring cleaning, and it suddenly became clear why he always scheduled meetings in the board room instead of his office. Seeing the trash and dirty clothes thrown all over the room, the Buffalo’s face dropped even farther. He was certainly due for a raise. After just a moment of resentment, the young officer put back on his stoic demeanor and embraced the job ahead of him. Walking over to the desk filled with beer cans, he swiftly reached down and pressed a button on the phone laying among the aluminum graveyard. “Stevie, get me some trash bags up to the commissioner’s office, stat” he promptly said into the phone.

“Oh dude, the commsioner’s office? For real?” the striped zebra said before bursting into a fit of laughter. He took his time, but eventually recovered and continued speaking. “Yo you sure you don't want me to send up a body bag instead? It's got more room!” This was, of course, followed by another fit of laughter from the zebra at the front desk. 

“Just make it quick” came the impatient response from the police sergeant still reeling from the smell of the office he was currently standing in. 

“Alright alright, I'll have Bill get a couple to you” the Zebra spoke back, finally coming down from what he certainly believed was the funniest joke in history.

“I’ll need more than a couple” Bogo deadpanned, sighing on the inside when he heard the zebra break apart into laughter yet again. They had to get someone more serious to operate the front desk someday. After eventually getting his fill of the enjoyment from Bogo’s current predicament, the zebra acknowledged his request for more bags before proceeding to go into another laughing session. Feeling the conversation was mostly over at that point, the officer set down the phone and began picking the shirts up from around the room while he waited for the trash bags to arrive. Why did the commissioner leave all these dirty clothes in his office? Does he not get dressed at home? Every time the sergeant could remember seeing the chief he always seemed to be dressed in his neat uniform with his stars and medals clearly on display. How did this happen? That was when Bogo realized, it wasn't just shirts, but shirts and pants- even underwear. Yet not boxers or briefs like the young cop would have expected, but underwear meant for females. What was going on? He decided to look past it for now and continue following his orders, as out of place as they may have been. Gathering up the remaining clothing articles, the chief decided it'd be best to put them in a separate bag from the trash, and just at that time a loud knocking came from the door of the office. “Come in!” he called before gently laying the pile of clothing in the center of the room. A second later, the door opened and a grey wolf stepped into the room- only to immediately take a step back and reach for his nose as if to block the horrifying stench emitting from the office. 

“What the...!” Bill let out, simultaneously dropping the four boxes of trash bags into the doorway. He then proceeded to kick the boxes into the room and reach for the door knob as he proceeded to speak. “You are on your own, brother” he said as he closed the door before Bogo even had a chance to say a word to him. The coughing he could hear outside the door reminded him that wolves did in fact however have a heightened sense of smell, and the stench likely attacked the poor officer far worse than it was doing so to Bogo. 

Alone again in the empty room, he reached down to open one of the boxes filled with black bags. Taking one out, he swiftly piled all the clothes he had gathered into it before setting the bag back down and proceeded to do a similar cycle with the trash covering a majority of the room. Moving swiftly and effectively, he had almost been done in only a few minutes. As he was clearing the remaining cans off of the desk however, Bogo noticed something. A few pictures seemed to be laid out underneath the pile of aluminum cans, and as the officer pulled them out to inspect if they were indeed pictures of some sort and not just more junk to toss in the bag, he saw just exactly what they were. 

Sexual abuse victims.

All four of the pictures he held were clear shots of all female mammals naked and crying in the office, which in the photo was still littered with trash and... Clothing. The mammals ranged from an otter to a lioness, none of which he had known. The realization of just what was going on behind the commissioner’s closed door hit him like a brick to the face, causing him to hastily open the drawers across the desk. Sure enough, there were more. So many more. The young sergeant stared ghastly at the hundreds upon hundreds of pictures filled with victims of the commanding police officer. Being sent into a state similar to pure shock, the buffalo jumped when the speaker on the desk suddenly popped alive with the voice of Stevie.

“Hey listen if your still in there it’s time to leave NOW, the commissioner is on his way up and there's someone with him” the zebra nearly whispered through the phone. Bogo still couldn't comprehend what he had just found, which cost him a few valuable seconds before springing back into life. Quickly stuffing the photos on the desk into the drawers before rapidly closing all of them and clearing off the remaining cans, Bogo figured he could expose the corrupt official afterward, but he had to make everything seem ok for now. Grabbing the bags filled with trash and clothes, he reached for the doorknob only to be stopped by a bone-chilling sound. The commissioner was talking to someone right outside the door. Bogo cursed himself silently before quickly glancing around the room for an escape route. The fire escape! Quickly shuffling to the other side of the room, he opened the window and silently tossed the bags out onto the steel staircase outside before gently climbing out himself. Thankfully, the commissioner seemed to be so enthralled in conversation that he was taking quite some time to actually enter the office. A lucky streak, on Bogo’s part. Briefly reaching out to close the window, he had a moment to reconsider the action. Didn't he want to hear what this ‘super-important’ meeting was about? Surely the commissioner wouldn't even mind the window being open, he would just see it as an act from the sergeant as trying to keep the air fresh. Deciding he should gather all the info on his corrupt boss as possible, Bogo receeded from the window and lined himself up against the wall to listen in as the door to the office opened.

“I think you'll find our partnership... Beneficial” he heard the familiar voice of the commissioner say in an unfamiliar smooth voice. 

“Oh I have no doubt” came a new, confident voice that Bogo had never heard before. “You see, the only thing I'm here to discuss are the arrangements for how our ‘partnership’ will begin” the voice continued.

“Oh but of course” the Commissioner responded. “I can get you anything you need”

“Precisely, as you know, I'm here to create a new... Business opportunity for your fair city. The only problem, however, is the unnaturally prestine name of the ZPD. You see, I've been to cities all over the world and each have their innings with law enforcement that I must work with to the fullest extent. Your people, however, seem to be complete in their mindless stance against crime”

“What can I say? We train ‘em good” 

“Perhaps too good. The only blemish I could find among all of you, was well, you. Don't be offended now, I'm just saying your the only one who doesn't stick to the narrow minded script you're all assigned to. As you can see-” suddenly Bogo hear what sounded like a case opening, followed by a few seconds of silence. 

“Where did you get these?” the commissioner asked in a dead cold tone. 

“Oh don't worry, I just know a few good photographers, that's all. But you see, what would happen if the press saw these? What if everyone saw how their bright and shining white knight was making innocent mammals strip in his own office?”

“...”

“Well, I think we both know the answer to that question, anyway. So here's what I propose: you don't interfere with my operations, and come whenever I call. In turn? Those girls you bring up the fire escape don't get shown to the public” 

Suddenly Bogo felt an almost uncontrollable urge to vomit as he realized just what the staircase he was standing on had been used for all these years. Doing his best to keep it together, he continued to listen in to the conversation on the other side of the window. 

“Listen Franko, I don't know what sick game you're trying to play- but I'm the damn police commissioner. No one black-mails me, not even you”

“They all say that at first. ‘Oh I'm a police officer, I am the law’ and yadda yadda yadda. But you know what? They all either wise up, or die. Tell me commissioner, which one will it be for you?”

A chill ran through Bogo’s spine as the coldness of the unseen mammal's voice shot through him. 

“I think it's time for you to leave” the commissioner spoke.

“Very well, do keep in mind what I've said, it would be quite unfortunate to lose such a promising partner. Keep in touch” Bogo heard as both mammals seemed to move towards the door. Seeing this as his only chance to catch a glimpse of the mystery black-mailer, Bogo leaned over and peered into the room. In front of the commissioner, walked a snow-white fox headed towards the door. 

The next morning, the commissioner was found hanged in his apartment complex. The death was ruled a suicide. 

Bogo tried to alert others to what he had seen and heard that night outside the office, and even showed the bag of clothing as evidence- but no one seemed to care. It was as if everyone already knew the commissioner wasn't so straight and narrow, had he somehow missed the clues? He followed cases well known to be tied with the white fox named ‘Franko’ for years. He left Zootopia that same day the commissioner died, and hadn't ever returned.

Until now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> extra chapter this week because you guys deserve it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I know the chapters a little short they get longer as it goes- that's the plan at least. By the end I'm hoping for each chapter to have around 5,000 words, so stick around! If you enjoyed the first chapter consider commenting, I'd love to hear what you guys think!


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